在中国古代，儒释道三家文化相互融合，形成了独特的思想体系。其中，道教作为一种宗教和哲学结合体，对于炼丹术有着深厚的影响。狐刚子，即狐丘，又称胡罡子、狐罡子，是东汉末年的一位著名炼丹家，他对黄白术有着卓越的贡献。
据今人陈国符先生考证，为晋代人，约与葛洪同时，与魏伯阳似为其师，而葛玄则似为其弟子。他的主要著作是《五金诀》，其中记载了他在黄白术方面的一些重要佚文，如《粉图经》、《出金矿图录》、《河车经》等。这些建立了我国古代化学发明家的地位，同时也反映了当时炼丹术所达到的高度。
然而，由于他的著述未能完整保存下来，所以长期以来，他的名字被遗忘。不过，在唐初的《黄帝九鼎神丹经诀》及唐代黄白术专著中，我们仍然可以找到一些关于他的信息。在这些文献中，他被誉为“最大之外丹黄白师”，这表明他在当时是一位极具影响力的炼丹高手。
foxglove, also known as fox Zongzi, is a famous alchemist of the Eastern Han period. He was born in the late Eastern Han dynasty and lived during the same time as Ge Hong. His main work is "Wujinju", which records his contributions to alchemy.
According to modern scholars such as Chen Guofu, fox Zongzi was a contemporary of Ge Hong and Wei Boyang, who may have been his teacher or mentor. His other works include "Futihuolu", "Chukai Lu", and "Heche Jing". These writings reflect the advanced level of alchemical techniques in China at that time.
Although fox Zongzi's works are not well-preserved today, they have left behind important insights into ancient Chinese chemistry. For example, he described how to extract gold from mercury using a method called "blowing gold powder". This process involved heating mercury until it vaporized and then collecting the gold particles that formed on its surface.
Fox Zongzi also made significant contributions to metallurgy. He developed a method for extracting silver from lead using a process called "nine turns copper lead law". This technique involved repeatedly heating lead with copper until it produced pure silver.
In addition to these achievements, fox Zongzi was also knowledgeable about geology and mineralogy. He wrote about how to identify different types of minerals based on their properties and uses this information to develop new methods for extracting metals from ores.
Overall, fox Zongzi's contributions to alchemy were groundbreaking for his time period. Despite being forgotten by history for many years after his death
